HIS 104 - Western Civilization II

A survey of Western Civilization from the 18th century to the present. This course is equivalent to HIS 100 The Rise of the West, which is no longer offered. This course fulfills the SUNY Western Civilization requirement.

Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

1. Distinguish primary and secondary sources in history.
2. Read primary sources in history and formulate pertinent inferences and interpretations.
3. Identify some of the methods used by historians and social scientists to study the past.
4. Identify and describe the main political, economic, social, cultural, and religiou conditions fo lat medieval and early modern Europe (1450-1789).
5. Identify and explain the increasing conflicts between a traditional aristocratic society and emerging “modern” movements in the economic, political, social, cultural, and religious arenas.
6. Describe the industrial transformation and evaluate its consequences.
7. Identify and describe the movements of the 19th century age of “isms,” including imperialism, and evaluate their impact on European and non-European societies.
8. Explain why World War I was the product of mounting tensions within an increasingly “modern” European nation-state system.
9. Explain and assess how WW II grew out of a failed European peace and a series of interwar crises.
10. Explain and evaluate the impact of communism and fascism on 20th century European civilization.
11. Identify and analyze the competing historical interpretations of the Cold War and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union.
12. Describe the factors giving rise to decolonization of the European empires and evaluate its consequences, focusing especially on the rise of globalization.